Mirror Image
by cowlover2
Summary: The Man in the Moon was the first Guardian to keep the children safe. He then appointed another Guardian, the Sandman. While the Sandman brought sweet dreams to the children, his enemy Pitch brought nightmares. However, one cannot survive without the other to keep them in balance. Rated K for now, but may be changed in the Future. (May be spoilers, follows movie plot briefly)
1. Prologue

Mirror Image

A _Rise of the Guardians_ fanfiction

**I do not own Rise of the Guardians. **

**~Prolouge~**

The Man in the Moon was the first Guardian. Everyone knows that. The moon guards the entire earth every night, shedding light upon the children as they sleep. No child ever feared the moon, because its soft whispers would send them to sleep.

However, the man in the moon needed help. So he assigned another Guardian, and called him the Sandman. The Sandman was a short, stout little fellow, with wild golden hair that stuck out around his head. He did not talk much, but he was very expressive in his face. The Man in the moon gave the Sandman the power of magic sand, which could be formed into marvelous shapes and would keep the children happy while they slept. The Sandman was very happy with his new job, and he worked very hard with the Man in the Moon to keep the children safe at night.

Lurking in the Sandman's shadow however was a dark figure. His name was Pitch Black, and he was a polar opposite of the jolly and carefree Sandman. A tall lanky character with sickly grey skin, Pitch thrived on unhappiness and sorrow. Using a black form of the Sandman's magic sand, Pitch the Boogeyman was able to create terrifying monsters to invade children's sweet dreams and turn them into nightmares.

The battle between Pitch and the Sandman was an ongoing one, but eventually the two came to a stalemate. The Sandman was able to protect most of the children, which kept Pitch's powers weak. The Man in the Moon came to the realization that good and bad was always needed, but if there was more good than bad, then the bad could be cancelled out. The Sandman and Pitch were in balance with each other, and the scale was tipped towards good. However, The Man in the Moon knew that a scale can be tipped either way, and if it tipped too far, either good or bad would disappear.

**Author's Note: I hope you guys like this new story! I totally fell in love with Rise of the Guardians. I love all the characters, but the Sandman has to be my favorite. While I watched the movie I felt as though Sandman and Pitch were the real enemies, even though all of the Guardians fought against Pitch. **

**This story is a little different from my last fanfiction. This is just the Prologue, and I tried to write it as though it was a children's story. The rest of the story will probably be written in a different style.**

**Don't be afraid to review or criticize! I'm not the best writers and I would love to see how I could improve.**


	2. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Thanks for all the Reviews and favorites! I really appreciate you guys taking the time. Anywho, here's chapter 1!**

The Sandman already knew something was wrong before North summoned him to the pole. He could feel it in his sand. Something within him was off kilter, he just couldn't figure out what. But North's words put a foul taste in his mouth, for they made so much sense.

"It is Pitch! I feel it in my belly," North said.

"Nonsense! Pitch wouldn't try something that stupid," Bunny grumbled, irritated from being summoned from his Hollow.

Bunnymund was quickly proven wrong once Pitch's shadow made its appearance.

The Sandman clenched his fists. Pitch had gotten stronger; the force of his nightmares left a stain around the pole. It made the Sandman worried. Pitch had not had anything close to this kind of power since the Dark Ages. The sandman looked up to the full moon, finding comfort in the light beams, when he heard the soft whispers of the Man in the Moon trying to tell the Guardians something.

Sandman jumped. The other Guardians weren't paying attention. Trying to gain their interest, he jumped up and down, making symbols above his head. When they didn't acknowledge him, he looked around, then seeing North's elves; he jingled one of their hats. The Guardians all turned to face the Sandman. The Sandman pointed to his friend in the sky, making the other Guardians look towards the sky.

"Sandy, why did you no say something? Hello Manny!" North said waving towards the moon. Sandy rolled his eyes. Sometimes being quiet was not a good thing.

The news of the Man in the Moon came as a shock, especially when the Moon said he wanted Jack Frost. While most of the Guardians doubted Jack's ability, Sandy thought differently. While Jack was reckless and wild, he already cared for the children and tried to make them happy. Sandy knew that the Man in the Moon had chosen wisely, but convincing the other guardians of Jack's ability would be difficult. He just hoped that the Guardians would trust Jack enough to let him fight in the battle against Pitch.

…

Above the guardians, standing in sky, was the Man in the Moon. He was a funny little man, with a bald head and a shiny suit, and a smile that never seemed to fade. Except for right now as he looked upon the Earth.

He always kept an eye on his Guardians, but he was not always talkative to them. Patrolling the world was a busy job and it took his attention away from his Guardians. The Man in the Moon stared down at the Guardians sadly, unhappy with the way they fought. The man knew that Jack was stubborn and young, but Jack had the power to help push the battle against Pitch back in their favor. His spirit was light and his love for the children showed in every snowstorm he made.

The Man in the Moon also looked worriedly down at the Sandman. Although the Sandman was not showing it, Pitch's new strength was probably taking a toll. It would be slow and gradual at first, but soon Pitch's nightmares would run him down. The Man smiled grimly. He hoped that he could help the Sandman if the time came that the Guardian could not do his job.

…

Pitch laughed evilly as he felt his nightmares invade the minds of so many children. His power was not so great yet, but soon he would be able to start his attack against the rest of the Guardians. First Toothiana and her army of mini-fairies, then Bunnymund and his Hollow, then North's toy factory with the mindless elves. Then, once all of the other Guardians were taken out, he would take out the Sandman in his floating fortress, right under the glow of the Man in the Moon. The Great Guardian in the sky would be forced to see his first ally fall under the force of Pitch's fear. Pitch laughed again as he relished the thought of the Sandman's sand turning black. Then, once again, the Dark Ages would rise again.

**I hope you guys like the story so far! I have the basic outline in my head, but it's kind of coming along when I put it to paper. Please leave a review, I would love to know how to make the story better!**


	3. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Sorry for the delay in chapters! I've been busy with school these past few weeks, and I have finals this week so it will probably be a little longer for the next update. Thank you for all the kind reviews! They really make my day.**

The Sandman flew around the town, helping Tooth take teeth and deliver gifts to all of the children as they slept at night. Even in this time of darkness as Pitch tried to keep people from believing in the Guardians, he was actually enjoying himself as he raced the other Guardians, each trying to collect more teeth that the other.

There was a nagging tiredness in the Sandman though. It was not a good tiredness, as if he had spent all day playing and having fun. It was a bad kind of tiredness, as though he was sick and his body was trying to fight something off. He could not figure out why he was tired. During the night was when he was most alive and active, it made no sense for him to be tired. As he raced to the next house he looked up at the Man in the Moon, but the floating guardian was being cryptically silent. The Sandman decided to not worry so much and went back to concentrating on getting teeth for the Tooth Fairy.

…

Pitch screamed in frustration as the little lights on his globe lit up again, one by one. The more children that believed in the meddling Guardians, the less influence his nightmares had on the children. If he couldn't stop the children from believing then his plan would never go through.

However, he had found something very interesting while he was infecting dreams. The good dreams the Sandman sent into the minds of children seemed to be weakening, as though the Sandman was not putting as much effort into them as he normally would. This was good for Pitch, because it made it easier for him to change the dreams to nightmares, but he did not like that the Sandman was making it easy for him. It was almost as if the Sandman was letting him win this battle.

…

The Man in the Moon smiled as he watched his Guardians go across the world to help Toothiana. This was why he had created the Guardians, to make children happy and to give them faith. The Guardians were even beginning to accept Jack Frost, even if Jack Frost himself had not accepted himself as a Guardian quite yet. It was not matter. As long as the children believed in the Guardians, Pitch would never be able to carry out his evil plans.

…

"Thank you so much everyone!" Tooth said as the first rays of light came up above the horizon. "I could have never been able to do this without you!"

They had met back at Tooth's home, to place the teeth into temporary homes until they found the teeth containers and her mini-fairies. It had been a lot of work, but all of the Guardians were proud of the work they had accomplished.

The Sandman knew that they had only temporarily solved the problem though. They each had their own jobs, and the Sandman could not spend every night helping Tooth collect teeth. He needed to keep Pitch from infecting the dreams of the children. While he felt a little better than before they had collected the teeth, he still felt drained. It would be a long night ahead of him. Nevertheless, he smiled and did not let the other Guardians see how exhausted he really was.


	4. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: You guys are the nicest readers ever! Your reviews put a big smile on my face. Thanks for taking the time to review!**

The Sandman flew next to Jack on a sand cloud as the two Guardians chased after Pitch on his nightmares. He was furious. His dreams were crumbling around him and the children's nightmares were getting out of hand. It broke his heart to see the children unprotected in their dreams, when they were supposed to be safe. Pitch had gone too far. It was time to end this battle.

The Sandman flew ahead of Jack and created two glittering gold whips out of his dream sand. Flying into the sky, a symbol of anger appeared above his head as Pitch laughed wickedly.

"This is a little earlier than I wanted to confront you," Pitch said with a smirk. "It is no matter. You seem to be slipping in this battle." He sent an arrow of black sand upon the Sandman. The Sandman was able to dodge it, but just barely. While Pitch seemed revitalized with a new strength that the Sandman had never seen, the Sandman felt tired and weak. Not wanting to give up, he put all of his strength into his sand whips and began to take down the nightmares Pitch was raining down upon him. It was a failing battle. There were so many nightmares, and only one Sandman. He kept fighting and fighting, and they just kept on coming.

The Sandman heard Jack scream below him, and as he looked down, he heard Jack's warning too late. A black sand arrow had embedded itself in his core, and already the black sand was trying to spread fear throughout his body.

The Sandman kept fighting the nightmares around him, but his mind was in chaos. His core felt like it was on fire and the black sand felt like an evil that he just wanted to expel. Worst of all was the fear. The gnawing fears that he was trying to fight away. The fear of defeat. The fear that the children he tried so hard to protect would no longer have good dreams. The fear that the Man in the Moon would be disappointed in him for his failure. The fear of death. What happened to a Guardian if he disappeared, or if the fear and darkness took over him? Would he end up like Pitch with hatred over taking him? He did not want to leave. He needed to protect the children. He was not like the Tooth Fairy. The Sandman was the only one who could deliver good dreams to children. He was so scared of loosing this battle, yet he knew that this was one battle he could not win, and that scared him the most.

With the last of his fighting strength, he looked down at Jack Frost, and he smiled. He was so scared and afraid, but if he could leave one last smile on the earth, that was what he wanted to be remembered for. Then the black sand took him over and his particles dispersed.

…

The Man in the Moon saw the Sandman's entire struggle from his perch upon the Moon. It filled him with grief to see his first Guardian so conflicted, and so scared. Fear was one emotion that should never be on the Sandman's face. The Sandman was the Guardian of dreams, and dreams were meant to be happy and blissful.

Just before the black sand took over the Sandman's body, the Man in the Moon positioned the moon rays right above the Sandman. He doubted the Sandman would hear him, but it did not matter in the end.

"Sandman I will help you," The Man in the Moon said. "The fear will leave you again."

As the Sandman's particles flew apart, the Man in the Moon took each particle in his moon beams and brought them up through the atmosphere to him. It would take some time for the Sandman to come back together, but the Man in the Moon knew that the Sandman would come back, because the children of Earth needed him.

…

"NO!" Jack Frost screamed as he came back down to the Earth. Tears streamed down his face, leaving frozen ice crystals on his face. "No, No, NO!"

"Jack, it's okay," Tooth said sadly. "The Sandman knew what he was getting into when he took on Pitch."

"It's not okay!" Jack shouted.

"Jack is right Tooth," North said. "Sandy was the only one who could deliver dreams. The Children cannot believe in Guardians without dreams. They will stop believing."

"It's not just that!" Jack said "I should have protected him, helped him fight the nightmares off. But I couldn't even get close! The Sandman is gone now because of me!"

"It's not your fault Jack," Tooth said. Jack looked at the ground, his anger showing on his face.

"We still have one hope," Bunnymund said. "Easter's tomorrow! That will give the kids something to believe in."

"Bunny's right!" North said. "We must not give up hope!"

Jack looked at each of the Guardians. His grief over the loss of the Sandman was great, but he knew that he would have to help Bunnymund if Easter was to be their saving grace. He wiped off his face.

"Alright," he said. "I'll help. For the Sandman's sake."


	5. Chapter 4

Pitch danced around his underground lair, watching gleefully as the lights slowly went out around his giant globe. He spun around as he listened to the sorrowful sound of Toothiana's mini fairies as it echoed through his ears and he knew that they too were slowly getting weaker as the children stopped believing in them. It was like music to his ears.

The anger. The sadness. The fear. This power coursing through him was unlike any he had felt before, even during the Dark Ages. Ever since the Sandman was destroyed by his nightmare sand Pitch felt unstoppable. The Sandman had only been giving him trouble in his plans.

However, the Sandman's passing almost felt like it had come too quickly. The Boogeyman had wanted to savor the Sandman's death, wanted to watch as the light slowly faded from the Guardians eyes, The Sandman's soul becoming nothing but fear and despair as he realized that even his precious Man in the Moon could not save him.

It didn't matter now. All that mattered was that the Sandman was gone and now Pitch's plans could further faster than he ever thought imaginable. Children losing faith, the Guardians losing power, it was better than he ever could have imagined. Pitch smiled, his gleaming white teeth shining. Sometimes it was good to be the bad guy.

…

"So what do we have to do?" Jack asked, looking around as they stood in Bunnymund's Hollow. As much as he hated to admit it, Bunny's place was pretty cool. Very colorful. Giant stone eggs moved around and giant rivers of paint flowed all around them. It was different than what Jack had expected. Bunny was so serious most of the time that Jack had expected the Hollow to be rather… bland. However, this underground world was incredible.

"That's the easy part mate," Bunnymund said. He then thumped his feet hard against the ground. Slowly at first, then going faster, little eggs walked out of tunnels all around them. Jack was surprised. Eggs with feet? Strange, but it made sense. He had always wondered how Bunny had delivered eggs all around the world in one night.

"Pick some eggs and start painting," Bunnymund said with a smile, and then he scooped up a few eggs and dropped them in a paint river. Tooth smiled gleefully and gently picked up an egg, dropping it in some pink paint. Santa summoned one of his Yeti's, and together they set out on painting eggs. Jack picked a few eggs, dropping one in yellow paint, the next in pale blue. It was actually fun to get creative and make different designs on the eggs.

"_Sandman would love this place,_" Jack thought, immediately regretting it as tears welled up in his eyes. He knew the other Guardians must feel the same. It seemed that the majority of the eggs were getting some sort of gold accent on them. Some were solid gold, some had golden polka-dots or stripes, and some had golden glitter sprinkled on them. The loss of the Sandman still weighed on their mind, but like the other Guardians, Jack knew that if they were going to keep the children believing, they would have to do whatever they could. Jack was also sure that the Sandman would understand.

On the next egg he picked up Jack painted it blue, and then put a golden star on it. He would not know it then, but it would be the only eggs painted like that in the whole world.

**Author's Note: Thank you for reading chapter 4! Sorry I did not put Sophie in this part like in the movie, but she really didn't fit with the emotion I wanted to convey. Hope you enjoyed it anyway.**


	6. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: Thank you all for your continued readership! Sorry for the lack of updates, I've been busy with family and holiday stuff. However, I should be able to post the last few chapters pretty regularly. Let's get on with the story!**

_The Sandman was somewhere dark, but it was warm and calm there. Golden particles floated all around him, and he could hear a muffled voice from somewhere far away. It seemed like it was humming, but the Sandman could not figure out the tune. It was alright though. The Sandman felt as though he had nothing to fear. He had no worries, and no responsibilities. All was calm._

_As the particles floated closer together, the Sandman started to remember small memories. He remembered who he was, the Guardian of Dreams. He remembered the Man in the Moon, his mentor and friend. He remembered Pitch, the King of Nightmares that lived in his shadows._

_All of the anger the Sandman had felt over Pitch's nightmares seemed to have cooled. He was still upset over Pitch's actions, but in this dark place the Sandman mostly felt sorry for the boogeyman. He was bitter and cold, and he would never know the joy of helping children, or the warmth that came from a child's smile._

_Sandman pondered all of these things, until all of the particles finally solidified together, and he heard a voice calling to him. At first the Sandman could not make out the words, but finally he heard a familiar voice say_

"_Wake up."_

…

The Man in the Moon had gathered every particle of dream sand that made up the Sandman and formed them back together. It was a long process, putting the Sandman back together, but the Man in the Moon knew he could not rush. So he diligently worked away, humming a mindless little tune as he did so.

Finally, after many hours of work, the Man in the Moon placed the last grain of dream sand into place, and the Sandman was whole once again. There was no sign that any nightmare sand had ever inhabited the Sandman's body, but the Sandman seemed wiser somehow, as though he had learned many things. The Man in the Moon hoped the Sandman could use this knowledge in the future to become an even better Guardian.

Gently, the Man in the Moon placed his hand on the shoulder of the Sandman and told him to wake up. It took several times, but finally the Sandman's eyes slowly fluttered open. The Guardian looked up at the Man in the Moon, and smiled as he sat up and moved his fingers, as if making sure they still worked. The Man in the Moon smiled.

"Glad to see you back old friend," The Man in the Moon said. The Sandman responded with a symbol of happiness above his head, then after a small pause, the air above the Sandman's head was flooded with questions and symbols that The Man in the Moon was barely able to pick out. He raised his hands and the Sandman's symbols stopped.

"I know you have many questions," The Man in the Moon said. He sat next to the Sandman, and began to try and answer them, one at a time.

"You are alive, make no mistake of that. I was able to collect and purify all of your dream sand particles to put you back together. You are the same Sandman you have always been.

You're also probably wondering why you felt so weak before you were taken by the nightmare sand. It is because of Pitch. You and Pitch are inexplicably linked to one another. It is a very strange phenomenon. While you are the Guardian of Dreams, he controls Nightmares. Your powers of good normally keep Pitch in check, but now that Pitch has figured out how to widespread his nightmares, his power was able to grow. As his power grew, people stopped believing in you and your powers shrank, leaving you not as powerful as normal.

Sandman, you and Pitch need each other. While Pitch should never have gotten this powerful, he needs you and you need him to survive. Sadly, this is your fate."

The Sandman thought for a moment. He was somewhat upset that this was the first the Man in the Moon had told him about this, he understood. If Pitch knew about their strange link, it could end up bad for both of them.

Now the only thing the Sandman wanted was to get back to Earth. Even if only one child believed in him, the Sandman would need to protect him. He conveyed these feelings to the Man in the Moon, and the Man in the Moon smiled.

"Of course you can go back. However, not many children believe in the Guardians, sadly. You will have to work hard to get even the Guardians to see you again."

The Sandman nodded, and the Man in the Moon created a beam of light that went to where the rest of the Guardians were. The Sandman waved, and then jumped down onto the beam and slid down towards the earth, to try and fix Pitch's damage to the children of the Earth.


	7. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: I am SO sorry for not updating this in so long. I have a problem with finishing things, but I promise this fanfic will get done! Thank you for your continued readership.**

Pitch was ecstatic as his nightmares created chaos throughout town. The fear, the sadness, the pain, it was almost too much for him. This much power had never flowed through him before. With the Sandman gone, he finally found a way to unlock his full potential. It was glorious! He could finally corrupt the minds of all the children in the world, and the Guardians were no longer strong enough to stop him.

There was only one thing in his way that would lead to the total devastation of the Guardians. That boy. Jamie, Pitch believed the child's name was. That single little child was preventing him from enveloping the world in a beautiful nightmare. However, Pitch knew he would soon be able to sway Jamie's mind. It was only a matter of time.

…

Jack looked at the Guardians he had learned to call friends, then back at the boy who they needed to protect. The Guardians were weak and weary, or helpless. North was supporting himself with his swords for goodness sake! How were they going to be able to protect this one child from thousands of nightmares if they couldn't even support themselves?

As if sensing his doubt, Tooth gently placed her hand on his arm. While she could no longer even get herself off the ground, her hand was still reassuring to Jack.

"Jack, we're still Guardians," Tooth said with a smile. "Even if Jamie is the only child who still believes in us, he will give us the strength we need to fight Pitch."

"We won't stop mate," Bunnymund said, his small, fluffy form sitting on the ground. "We're Guardians. We must keep the children safe. To give them hope."

"And wonder," North said, patting Jamie gently on the back.

"And to keep their memories strong," Tooth said, letting her hand fall off of Jack's arm. "We're going to keep fighting Jack. Will you help us?"

Jack looked at Jamie, the first child to ever believe in him, the first child to ever make him feel like a Guardian. The boy's eyes were full of determination, but he could see fear residing deep inside those eyes. Jack knew that Jamie was scared, because all of his friends no longer believed, but Jack knew he had to keep Jamie safe.

"Of course I'll help," Jack said. "I'm a Guardian.


	8. Chapter 7

**Authors Note: Hey everyone! As always, thanks for reading. After this chapter there will only be one or two chapters, and then an epilogue. Until then, enjoy!**

As the Sandman hopped off of the moonbeam and onto the Earth, it quickly became apparent to him that what the Man in the Moon had said was very true. He was practically transparent. He could not touch anything, and he could not be seen by anyone. Strangely this fact did not seem to bring down the Guardian. As long as he was here he felt that he could do something to help.

Walking, because he had no dream sand to fly with, the Sandman tried to quickly locate the Guardians. When he finally found them, he was shocked by their state. Fighting off nightmares, it was almost strange. All of his friends were strong and powerful. The figures that stood before him only held a shadow of the Guardians he had always fought with. However, how weak the rest of his fellow Guardians were, they were all still doing better than the Sandman. The Sandman had ceased to exist.

However… there was something strange. Floating around Jack's staff, swirling around North's swords, around Bunnymund's feet, hanging around Tooth's wings, and sparkling around Jamie's head; it was a small amount, but Sandman could see it. Small particles… of his dream sand.

While the Sandman stood there unseen, his heart welled up with love for his friends. Each of them had kept a small part of the Sandman in their hearts. They each still had some capability to dream. Maybe that was all the Sandman needed. That small amount of dream sand could turn into so much more.

Swiftly he ran around his friends, sweeping up all of the sand particles. The other Guardians would not see him, but it would feel as though a breeze had swept around them. The Sandman was delighted when the sand he accumulated was a handful. Even to just collect one handful, this showed how much his friends believed in him. That's all people needed, was to believe.

He took the dream sand and gently sprinkled a bit over Jamie's head. He did not want the boy to fall asleep, he just wanted him to feel… inspired.

Thankfully, it worked. Jamie led the other Guardians to more children, and slowly, more dream sand began to trickle around them. Sandman scooped up the small amounts he could get at a time and continued sprinkling it around the children. The amount began to pile up. He swept it into the air, and began to create shapes with it. Dinosaurs, unicorns, dolphins, anything he knew the children would like, he just created and made. He was happy, creating like this. Not being able to use his dream sand the way he wanted, that was probably the thing that disappointed him the most about losing his power to Pitch.

After a while of creating, he noticed a change. The Guardians were growing stronger, there were more smiles on the children's faces, and things were starting to feel not so terrible. Sandman looked down and saw that he had some dream particles sticking to his robes. He dusted some more on, and that stuck too. He looked up at the moon. Would this bring him back to the children? He collected the dream sand around himself, creating a giant sphere. More and more circled around him, and then, it collapsed.

Suddenly his world was a swirl of gold. Dream sand stuck to him as though his body was made of glue. He formed his two whips of sand and then dispersed the remaining dream sand away from him.

And judging from the faces of the other Guardians, the Sandman was finally back.


	9. Chapter 8

**Author's Note: Sorry for the long delay you guys! I feel like such a moron, this chapter's been ready for a while I just didn't upload it! Life has been crazy, but I'm going to try to get it done this week since its spring break. Thanks for waiting on me!**

The Guardians watched as the golden sparkles flew around them. It seemed to grow and grow, and none of them knew where it came from. Around the children it seemed to grow, and the kids smiled and laughed as it fell around them like snow. As it spread, it seemed to stick to the air in one place. It was a small place, very near to where the Guardians were standing. It moved slowly, sticking to the area more and more. North pointed to it, and then the rest of the Guardians kept glancing at the area as they kept fighting off the nightmares.

A burst of gold appeared, creating a sphere around the small area. It grew and grew spraying the glitter and dust around. It whipped out, attacking nightmares and keeping them away from the children.

Suddenly the sparkles dispersed and the Guardians had to cover their eyes with their arms as the dust came upon them. Jack looked down and gathered it in his hands… it was not dust it was… sand.

Jack looked up excitedly as the sand fell to the ground. Standing proudly with golden whips in his hand, stood a figure that Jack never thought he would want to see so badly.

"SANDY!" Jack said, a few tears trickling down his face. The golden Guardian looked towards him and winked, then flew up into the sky with a golden cloud as he went to look for Pitch.

…

Pitch stood on his cloud of dark dream sand scowling as the Guardians fought against his nightmares. At first they were weak against them, but as the children began gathering and believing more in the Guardians, his nightmares had less affect. It was annoying to say the least. Here he was just one more child away from ridding himself of the guardians and then something happened that tipped that scale. What was it?

He figured it out once the gold sand began to appear, and a cold fear swept through him. It could not be possible! Pitch had destroyed the Sandman, how could he be alive? It was not possible, yet it was happening before his eyes. Pitch reached out his sand, trying to infect the sand. It was so strong; the dark sand could not touch it.

"_No, No, NO!_" Pitch thought. He couldn't lose like this, he'd come too far.

But as the Sandman flew up to meet him, Pitch became nervous. The Sandman was powerful, even with just the power of a few kids. Pitch was losing a fight he had worked so hard to win. However, he would not give up without a fight.

…

"So you're back for the final fight are you Sandman?" Pitch taunted as the Sandman was at level with the boogeyman. Sandman did not even listen; he just lashed out with his whips and caught Pitch by the ankle, flinging him far into the nearby forest. This fight was between him and Pitch. As much as the other Guardians wanted a piece of Pitch, none of them had _died_ protecting the children from this monster.

The Sandman flew on his dream cloud to meet Pitch, landing in the snow and walking slowly to the Nightmare King. Pitch looked at him, fear in his eyes.

"Sandman please!" Pitch begged. "You know all I wanted was to be believed in. I just wanted to be seen!"

The Sandman knew this. The Sandman knew what it was like to not be believed in. To disappear from the eyes of the children he loved so dearly. Sandman also knew that he and Pitch were intertwined, that they needed each other. Light and Dark were always parallel, there was no way to make the other go away permanently. They were mirror images.

However, Sandman was still angry at the boogeyman. He had to have some punishment for hurting the children the Sandman held so dearly. So without another word, the Sandman caught Pitch's ankle with his golden whip and flung him down to the Nightmare King's lair, to be exiled for a very long time. Forever, if the Sandman had anything to do with it.

Sandman was then surrounded by his other Guardians, and the children that they worked with. So many faces filled with joy and cheer, triumphant at the win against the dark. Sandman smiled too. The other Guardians would never know about the similarities between Pitch and the Sandman, about each other's need for one another. All they knew was that children would not be overwhelmed by nightmares, that the children would be filled with dreams, joy, hope, memories, and now… fun.


	10. Epilogue

**~Epilogue~**

There once were two Guardians. One was a Guardian of Nightmare's, and he brought fear and despair into the hearts of children. His heart was cold and black, but deep inside all he wanted was to be believed in.

The other Guardian was a Guardian of Dreams. He brought good dreams to all the world's children as they slept. He was kind and wise, and he wanted nothing more than to protect the children he guarded.

Pitch Black and the Sandman fought mighty wars against each other, time passed and they were never in balance, be it the Sandman with more power, or Pitch.

However, the Sandman knew that Pitch could never really be destroyed. As hard as he tried, darkness could never go away, and he would always lose a child to a nightmare every once in a while. The Sandman did not fear. He knew that as long as he was believed in, that dreams would always be stronger, than a nightmare.

-The End-

**Author's Note: I hope you guys enjoyed this fanfiction! It was really fun to write. Thank you for sticking with me for so long. I hope you all believe!**


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